MILAN: A Luka Jovic double and a goal from Tijjani Reijnders helped AC Milan to outclass city rivals Inter Milan 3-0 on Wedne­sday and seal a 4-1 aggregate triumph to reach the Coppa Italia final.

Inter earned a 1-1 draw against Milan in the first leg of their semi-final but they could not stop an aggressive Milan from dominating the match on Wednesday.

“Jovic is working really hard, in particular in the last three or four weeks. He’s lost a bit of weight too, which helps,” said coach Sergio Conceicao to Mediaset. “He gives us something that we needed for this match, every forward has their own set of qualities. He doesn’t give defenders a lot to work with.”

The win set up a showdown against either Bologna or Empoli, who play the second leg of their semi-final, with Bologna defending a 3-0 lead from the first encounter.

Inter are still in the hunt for both the Serie A and Champions League titles, but they have endured a torrid time against Milan this season, losing three times and drawing twice.

Conceicao’s Milan have the chance to lift a second trophy this season, after their Italian Super Cup triumph in January.

After an early Champions League exit and a poor league run that has left them in ninth place, it has been an otherwise underwhelming campaign for Conceicao’s side.

Yet goalscorer Reijnders hopes they can end the season on a high note.

“We have a duty to believe we can win it,” he told DAZN about the Coppa Italia final.

Inter started well and Federico Dimarco nearly found the net midway through the first half with a stunning effort that crashed off the bar following a quick free kick.

Ten minutes later, Inter captain Lautaro Martinez latched onto a knock-down in the box but blazed his effort high into the stands.

Milan struck with their first real chance nine minutes before the break, as Alex Jimenez whipped in a cross for Jovic to nod home.

The Serbian sent half of San Siro into raptures four minutes after the restart, doubling Milans lead after a corner found its way to the far post, where Jovic battled to force it in.

Inter’s humiliation was complete when Reijnders was played free inside the box and easily slotted Milan’s third from an acute angle in the 85th minute. The final is on May 14 at Stadio Olimpico.

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi said he is worried after a second straight defeat following Sunday’s 1-0 league loss to Bologna, but urged his players to overcome the setbacks.

“Of course (I’m worried). We’re not used to losing two in a row,” Inzaghi told SportMediaset.

“We need to analyse both defeats the right way. We didn’t deserve to lose in Bologna, and tonight we ran out of energy in the second half.

“We have to keep going. There’s both physical and mental fatigue. We need to be stronger than all of that.

“This journey has brought us a lot of joy, but also some disappointments, like tonight. We should’ve done better. We lacked sharpness in both boxes at key moments of the game.”

The Italian manager insisted that a packed schedule is no excuse, while his team must regain confidence for the final stretch of the season and ahead of hosting AS Roma on Sunday .

“We’ve had a more packed schedule than others, but again, it’s not an excuse,” Inzaghi said. “If we didn’t make it to the (Cup) final, it means we didn’t do enough.

There’s one month left, and we have to keep going with confidence. Tonight, Milan deserved it, and its only right that they’re going to the final.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2025